What is the major difference between the requirements in accomplishing the ‘best research-focused university in Korea’ in 30 years ago when POSTECH was established, and the requirements that is now necessary for ‘global value-creating university’, the new vision of POSTECH? Of course, the research infrastructure that has already been reached to the world level and educational environment, research ability as good as the infrastructure are the underlying assets that will sustain POSTECH for the considerable period of time. But what else is required? I would like to collect the new requirements and call it, ‘software ability’, ‘network ability’ and focus on the newly entrancing and graduating POSTECH students’ ability. Since they become alumni as they graduate, their abilities are simply POSTECH alumni’s ability.
Under the existing Korean-SAT and student report overall evaluating system, newly entrancing POSTECH students have also been focusing on hoarding ‘resources’ like other prominent universities’ students. Resource is the primary factor that determines the possible and impossible tasks one can achieve. There are inherent or self-developed resources like intelligence, knowledge, healthiness, and inherited ones like financial, environmental resources. Students put their full resources on university entrance during their high school period. However, the resources that the students attending to the certain level’s universities have are actually similar, and do not operate as specializing and differentiating factors. Then what makes the difference? Analyzing, abstracting the problem, and finding the solution, the difference of so-called ‘smartness’ varies person to person and it ultimately differentiates one’s ability.
The crucial factors determining students’ ability nowadays are ‘strategic thinking’ arranging and facilitating the hoarded ‘resources’ with conviction, attitude, the way one cooperates with others, generosity toward failure, the ability to objectify and reflect oneself, and those are the abilities that can be internalized only if they obtain the ability by themselves. Value judgement based on the priority and self-understanding in-depth, and any kind of executive motions originated from overcoming the lack of intelligence – the ‘curiosity’ – is the key explanatory variables.
I believe Postechians are mostly ‘smart’, yet not everyone is full of ‘curiosity’ and able to make ‘strategic thinking’, and this would be the key point of every Postechians’ future success. Simultaneously, the success of each Postechians results in the success of POSTECH. The success equation of last generation was sufficient intelligence for university entrance plus sincerity and passion. Now, we need additional terms, ‘curiosity’ and ‘strategic thinking’. I hope future Postechians may all possess those additional abilities and lead the further success of POSTECH.